Deepening through devotion

RETURN TO REVERENCE

JULIETTE JARVIS

To me, devotion has three aspects. Firstly, it refers to acts in honour of, service to, or an expression of any personally meaningful medicinal or spiritual essence. A daily stretching or energy movement practice, regular time for prayer, traditional foods made for culturally specific holy days, sacred art, even ensuring we have time to breathe properly or quiet connected time with our beloveds.

Secondly, it requires our dedicated time. It is slow living. It’s an avenue to pour our attention and careful cultivation into. It is less about “getting it done” or the final piece, and more of our experience sitting in the process.

It is showing up, again and again. It is choosing to stay a little longer and lean in a little more.

Finally, and somewhat critically, it draws from the wellspring of our heart. We may be conditioned to assume devotion means head strong commitment, and while interrelated, they are not interchangeable. If commitment is a decision made with our mind, devotion is an affinity expressed from our soul.

In a time when so many of us feel disconnected from meaningful living, are plagued by the question of “finding one’s purpose,” have found themselves in survival mode, or are suffering the loss of tradition, culture, or a lived sense of home, setting an inquiry into who, when, and where our devotion is expressed, or could be, may bring remedy to such deep aches.

A good beginning might be to feel into what or who is worthy of our devotion? Our own tender Self? The aliveness found in the sea and trees? A god or deity of our faith? Beauty? Love? Tradition? A creative muse? Place?

A clue may be found by following threads of our heart’s attention on what we find nourishing and inspiring, and it is okay if it takes a good long look to find.

In fact, it would be quite appropriate.

The next piece could be exploring how our devotion might be expressed in a way that our dedication doesn’t feel like another task on our To Do list. We might spend time honouring the Sun rising with a traditional song, knit prayer shawls, actually follow the pace that our body is asking for, collect litter on daily walks, paint the Divine as we see it, write love letters to friends and family speaking to the goodness we see in them, or honestly thank our own self each night for making it through another day.

When we find it, it may feel a little like it chose Us too.

Juliette Jarvis offers sacred living programs online, devotional arts, and divination sessions. Find her at 3FoldBalance.com and SelkieSanctuary.com